Columns & Editorials

One of the lowest income areas in my county is a place called Alabama Village in the city of Prichard. In the “Village” there are literally houses without running water, heating and cooling. There is not just one house but there are several. At one time Prichard had the highest murder rate in the state. My point is that this is a violent and dark area but in the midst of it all…there is a light. It’s called the Light of the Village. You can look it up online at www.lightofthevillage.org. This is a fantastic place that helps all ages in the Village with a concentration on the children. They have a faith-based school and run an after-school program for the inner-city children.

To be able to minister effectively to the people in the Village you must know the village life. This is an area where prostitution is active on every street. On most streets any drug wanted is sold. This is a place where many have been murdered and hope is hard to find. You have to know the streets and the life in the struggle to relate to these people. Many that have moved out of the area have done so by selling drugs. In the same breath they talk about being from the village but they are nowhere to be found for help. They come driving through these streets in front of these abandoned houses in their new cars but their own people have no air conditioner or heat. There is a strong disconnect with that. The Light of the Village is one of the few places that adds hope with a message of truth in the village. Looking for someone that has this same passion for those to see that they are leaving people behind I came across the artist Bizzle. Bizzle is no joke and brings a strong and sometimes hard- to- accept message to all of us.

I spoke with Bizzle recently and what led up to his writing of “God Over Money”. The following story may shock you but it’s what I like, REAL. Bizzle says that there was a time in his life where he first came to Christ where he was hurting financially. He was sleeping on a friend’s hardwood floor and his car doubled as his closet. He was doing all he could to make some money as he chased this rap game but he nevertheless was broke. Remind yourself he had found Christ so this was going through his mind constantly. Many of his friends were making a lot of money but very few of them were doing it legally. He had the opportunity, as all did, to turn to basically pimping. One particular woman came and dropped $1300 on him frequently. Quick money and easily justifiable, he thought. He says that his thought was that he would make this money for awhile and then get out of the game and concentrate on his music. He stayed in this for a while and one day he went to pick this young woman up. As they were riding down the road she told him that her father was a preacher. Bizzle again could justify even this in his own mind because he knew that he had a plan to get out of this and she was just part of the plan. God started doing something radical in his life to the point where he knew it was time to stop the madness.

The justification of sin is a road to disaster. It is very hard to come back down that road once you have convinced yourself it is accepted. Many of the people in Alabama Village use this same excuse as a reason to hustle and prostitute. They say they are are doing it to, “Put food in my family’s mouth”. I am telling you all that this is a ploy of the enemy. Making us believe that it isn’t that big of a deal and even though you know it is wrong it is easily justified.

In 1 Timothy 6:7-10 it states, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
The desire of money can corrupt the best of people. Let’s look at Bizzle’s take on this in his song “God Over Money”.

Lyrics:

V1
Its Bizzle consider me a G.O.M’er / We the team Christ be the king forever
They sell greed as need but we know better / tell the enemy that he can get an E for effort
I know you got bills dawg but we all got em’ / And dat don’t stop ya’ll from hitting the mall shopping
So you break the law to get what you can’t afford / Cuz the latest song said you're nothing unless you got it
That’s what I call bondage, and I'm free from it / I mean I need money, but I don’t NEED money
Cuz understand that when the famine hits and no one will sell their food these people will see they can’t eat money

Hook
I am G.O.M’er / Courtesy of G.O.D forever
It’s God over money and money over nothing / It only got the power that you give it when you love it
It’s just paper can’t you see it’s changed us from now on / I'm putting God over money, I put God over money

V2
Uhhh so tell me what you grind for, little piece of paper that you live and you die for / Put your soul, freedom, and your life on a line for But it’s time to quit living life in a blind fold
They got you ready to murder your brethren, for a dollar that it only cost' them 4 cent to print
It’s evident we need help but the questions is / Will you serve a living God or a dead president?
See the value has never been the paper / The value is in the resource that you pay for
Cuz if that same resource was made free to you / It would literally destroy what cash means to you
So how you risk your life for a paper dollar? / When as long as you have a life you can make a dollar
But all the money in the world can’t make a life / Get your money but keep God first and make it right

Hook
I am G.O.M’er / Courtesy of G.O.D forever
It’s God over money and money over nothing / It only got the power that you give it when you love it
It’s just paper can’t you see it’s changed us from now on
I'm putting God over money, I put God over money

V3
Uhhh go ahead break the money curse / Put God at the top and stop putting money first
Putting cash first got a bunch of us up in hearse' / Leaving us with paper that won’t cover up the hurt
Somebody listening now blinded by the paper / And all that’s running through their mind is how I'm a hater
The truth is I ain’t rich but I’m not broke / And I done turned down deals you wud’ve hopped on
If the money's really worth something and we print it / Den how we in a deficit, bet you never questioned it
How’s $20 worth less than $100 / They're the exact same thing with different numbers on em’
It’s just a tool that they been using to get control / That’s why they put you in a cell if you print your own
But everything including us, they get to clone / Knock it off, you're funny, money will never get HIS throne

Hook
I am G.O.M’er / Courtesy of G.O.D forever
It’s God over money and money over nothing / It only got the power that you give it when you love it
It’s just paper can’t you see it’s changed us from now on
I'm putting God over money, I put God over money

Outro
Iight now you can go back and try to poke holes in what I'm saying
But after you do that, recognize what I'm saying is the truth
And the question is what you gonna do about it?
What you gonna change hommie?
And don’t let these kats gas ya’ll up man
They on records talking about what they got that you ain’t got
And what you ain’t if you don’t have this homie
Don’t let these kats tell you what successful is Real talk

Three things we can learn from God’s word, Bizzle and his song “God Over Money”:
1. Money is not the sin. Love of the money is the sin. It will take you down a dark road that is hard to return from.

2. Justification for sin is dangerous. I hear people all the time telling others to follow their heart. Your heart will lie to you and deceive you. Follow the word of God.

3. We all have bills to pay and we all need a little extra money. Many of us though if looked at from outside the box will see that it’s not that we need money but more that we want more money.